


Survival

by Illiteracy_is_for_woozles



Series: Legacy of the Hopeful [3]
Category: Children of Misfortune, Original Work
Genre: Angst, Blood, Family, Gen, Homebrew Race, Injury Recovery, Japanese Dwarf Flying Squirrels, Loss of Limbs, Major Character Injury, Permanent Injury, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Ranger - Freeform, Squirrelfolk, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-22 23:14:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15592908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Illiteracy_is_for_woozles/pseuds/Illiteracy_is_for_woozles
Summary: Background for Shamb Aoba, a Momonga ranger.Author's Note: PLEASE read the tags before actually reading.





	Survival

**Author's Note:**

> Firstly, Shamb is my darling dearest and my first homebrew character. I'm kinda working through my own PTSD issues through her so please forgive whatever happens to her in the future.  
> Secondly, her race is based off of the pre-existing Squirrelfolk and real-life Japanese Dwarf Flying Squirrels. (Google pictures of them. I dare you. You will squee.)

For hundreds of years, the High Forest, five hundred miles of untamed wood, has been populated by dozens of races competing for land and resources. One such race is known as the Momonga, a squirrel-like race of brave forest-guardians who avoided being seen by others at all cost.

The Momonga have dwelt in harmony with the treants of Ingertos Wood, helping each other in the tending and expansion of their home. Many people have tried to claim this untouched woodland from them, but between the cunning and bravery of the Momonga and the sheer might of the treants, there is no chance of anyone gaining even an inch.

A momonga by the name of Shamb Aoba lived in their serene tree village, learning to forage as her family had done for generations. The Aoba family was renowned for being able to find food in the harshest of weather and could always be counted on to share with those who had none, and Shamb was no different.

As she grew, the young girl showed remarkable prowess in marksmanship, a talent few momonga had or even had any use for, and began training as a Forest Guardian. She was educated in all the ways the outside world could (and often tried to) destroy their forest home and how she could protect it.

As she reached adulthood, she was gifted by the whole village with a longbow that had the Grandfather Tree carved into it and which signified that they knew she had a fate reaching far beyond the forest.

Shamb took her responsibilities seriously and was never late to her post. She would often set up her easel and paints on a lower branch, so she could paint on those long afternoons. Her friend, Yasu, would bring her fresh berries for paint on especially long shifts.

On a day with no abnormalities to it, Shamb was startled from her work by loud snaps breathing. No one in the village was ever that loud and snapping twigs were almost unheard of; unless…

The young ranger nocked an arrow and leapt from limb to limb in search of the trespassers. Her vantage point was perfect for not being seen, but all that she could see was leaves, so she silently glided to the mossy ground. Still nothing. Shamb kept her eyes up, darting them around for any movement. A step… Another… And then-

**Clang! SNAP!**

Shamb screamed. She should have been watching her feet. She should have paid better attention to her surroundings.

Voices from her right made her bite her lip to quell the whimpers, if not the tears.

She looked down at her right leg to see that it had been caught in a trap and, due to her small size, shattered. She tried and failed (miserably) to pry it open with her shortsword.

More snapping twigs, but faster this time. She _had_ to get out of there.

Through tears, she took her belt and tied it around her thigh as tight as she could manage and bit an arrow nearly clean in half as she used her sword to sever the shattered leg.

As soon as she was free, Shamb scrambled on all fours- or, all threes, now- up the nearest tree and to safety. She knew they had seen her right before she had reached the tree – a dwarf and a human.

As soon as she had climbed as high as she could go, she tore a chunk from her skirt and wrapped the wound, trying to stem the blood as well as she could. Surely someone had heard her scream beside the two hunters, and even if they didn’t, it wouldn’t be long until the next shift was due to arrive.

She just had to stay awake…

 

It wasn’t long until she was found, due to the fact that they did indeed hear her scream.

The entire village gathered together in support of their fallen hero and there wasn’t a one among them who wasn’t seen at her door with a gift to support her family in their trial.

Shamb would often be seen staring off into space, leaving everyone to think that she had been irreversibly broken by her ordeal. But she wasn’t.

She had seen the hunters’ faces. Even through her tears, she had seen the horror and the regret and the _shame_ that those outsiders had when they realized that they had caused immeasurable harm to a sentient creature. And… She couldn’t be angry at them.

Kenta, her grandfather, was the first she spoke to of her decision. She wanted to find them and tell them that she forgave them. One of the hunters had dropped his bag with a letter from a city called Silvermoon. Kenta was proud of her and supported her completely.

Understandably, the rest of the village was afraid for her and none of them were brave enough to volunteer to take her any further than the forest’s edge.

A month after the accident, she finally set out laden with items to trade and rations for her journey. A few of the treants escorted the small party of rangers.

Shamb was afraid, sure. But she knew that this was going to be the greatest adventure of her life.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm always taking suggestions and requests for this series. I'm planning on writing full campaigns once everyone meets each other, sooooo.....


End file.
